This invention relates to automotive vehicles having a slideable side door and more particularly to a drive mechanism for a power operated slideable side door.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,365 granted to Howard W. Kuhlman and Jeffrey K. Joyner May 31, 1994 discloses a passenger van that has a slidable side door. The door is supported on and slideable in three tracks. A module for power operation of the door is mounted inside the van adjacent to the center track that supports and guides the rear of the door. The module includes a front cable and a rear cable. The front cable is attached to a front cable drive pulley, then extends through a front cable roller guide assembly and is then attached to a hinge and roller assembly. The rear cable is attached to a rear cable drive pulley then extends through a rear cable roller guide, assembly, and is then attached to the hinge and roller assembly. The front and rear cable drive pulleys are driven by an electric motor via an electromagnetic clutch to open and close the sliding door. The electromagnetic clutch permits manual opening and closing of the side door when it is disengaged, thus avoiding the need to back drive the electric motor. However, the cables and pulleys are part of a complicated system and must be back driven during manual operation which could be a disadvantage particularly in a manual opening operation.
This invention provides a drive mechanism for power operation of a slideable side door of an automotive vehicle, such as a passenger van. The drive mechanism has an flexible drive member that travels in a closed loop, a portion of which is through a track that supports and guides a hinge and roller assembly that is attached to the door. The flexible drive member is attached to the hinge and roller assembly is a composite having a cogged portion that is driven an electric motor to open and close the door. The remainder of the flexible drive member is uncogged for economy of manufacture. The hinge and roller assembly preferably has a normally engaged clutch that clamps the hinge and roller assembly to the flexible drive member for power operation of the door. The clutch can be disengaged manually to open the door manually very easily because neither the flexible drive member nor the electric motor need be back driven. The drive mechanism also includes an optional electromagnetic clutch that is driven by the electric motor and that in turn drives the cogged portion of the flexible drive member. The electromagnetic clutch is de-energized after each power opening or power closing to make a subsequent manual opening or closing easier because neither the electromagnetic clutch nor the electric motor need be back driven.